First Date
by WindowChild
Summary: Percy takes Annabeth on their first real date. Percabeth.


Percy did a final quick squirt of gel across his hair, and stared at himself in the mirror. "Uh… do I look okay?" He grimaced at himself; he wasn't used to looking so… shiny.

Grover frowned, coming up behind him. "I don't know. Something's missing. What do you think Tyson?"

Tyson leaned forward, thinking hard. "Hair is greasy. Wash it off."

Percy sighed, restraining an eye roll. They'd spent the last half hour _making_ it that way. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"Oh come on Percy, what were you going to do?" Grover asked. "You didn't really want your mom to get you ready for your first date, did you?"

"No," Percy admitted, grudgingly. It wasn't like he and Annabeth hadn't hung out since becoming official; they were together almost every day. This was different, though. He was taking her out, to a nice restaurant and a movie. There would be no buffers, no Greek talk, and no worries. For one night, they could be a relatively normal couple.

"Hey, do – do you think that Annabeth's doing the same thing?" He ran a comb distastefully through the sodden locks.

"Mmm?" Grover replied. He was fiddling through Percy's pairs of sneakers.

"Getting ready and stuff," Percy said. He shrugged. It was the kind of thing girls did, he knew, but he wasn't sure if it was the kind of thing _she _did.

"Aw, of course," Grover answered, smiling. "Don't worry, she's probably tons more nervous than you are."

Percy stared blandly into the mirror. He _wasn't _exactly nervous, just more meticulous than usual. He wanted everything to go smoothly.

"I bet she's with friends, too, if that's what you mean," Grover added. "Thalia said something about going over there."

"Oh, okay," Percy said. This relaxed him, marginally. They were doing the same thing, sort of. He wondered if Annabeth was fussing over how to wear her hair. "Well guys, it's almost seven. I'm going to go downstairs."

"Wait, she's meeting you here?" Grover asked. His face looked so ashen that Percy almost laughed.

"Um, yeah… she was at camp, so it made more sense?" His voice went up in question form, as he watched Grover slowly shaking his head. "What? What's wrong?"

"You don't have the girl come to you!" he said, looking positively horrified. "Trust me, Percy. Juniper and I have gone on lots of dates; that's just how it works."

"Okay…" Percy replied, slowly. "It's a little late now, though. I'll see you guys later."

"Good luck!" Tyson called, as he headed towards the door.

"Thanks," Percy said.

"I'm keeping my fingers crossed!" Grover said.

Percy winced. "Um, thanks." It was too late though, Grover had made him antsy. What if he wasn't doing this right?

"Hi."

Percy had to pause for a second, registering how pretty she looked. They only ever saw each other in their camp uniforms.

"You look great," he said. He laughed then, from the sheer corniness, and she looked insulted. "No, no," he said hurriedly, waving his hands, "It's just not like me to say… I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It's fine," she interjected, giggling herself. "Thanks for the compliment."

He grinned back, figuring it was safe. "Anytime. You ready?"

"Sure." She reached out, and he realized that she was trying to take his arm.

"Oh, here…" He thrust it out for her.

She threw her head back and laughed harder. "We suck at this, don't we?"

Percy blushed, embarrassed. He was supposed to be in control. "Yeah, I guess we do," he answered sheepishly.

"So, were are we going?" she asked.

"Italian place. It's kind of far, so I figured we'd take a cab."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?" he replied.

"Why bother, can't we take the subway?"

He tensed, praying to the gods that she wasn't trying to save him money. "No that's okay. It's much quicker if we take a cab." It came out kind of defensive, and she looked at him sadly.

"Please? I love the structure of the tunnels."

He couldn't tell if she was improvising or not, but he smiled anyway. Her freakiness, he could deal with. "Fine," he replied. "I'm getting you M&M's from the vending machine, though."

"Whatever," she laughed.

They walked down the steps to the subway, Percy making sure Annabeth stayed on his arm. He wasn't sure how many times she'd ridden it before.

"This is so cool," she whispered.

He glanced at her, glad she was enjoying it. To him, the subway was one of the more boring things in the world. "Aw, the train's here. I'll get you the M&M's later."

"Desert," she supplied.

"Right, that thing." He felt sort of stupid, all of a sudden. Even though his forte was sarcasm rather than wit, he liked to at least _try_ and be clever with semantics. It was rare though, and they both knew it.

Their eyes met quietly, and they both beamed. "How are you?" he asked, sighing.

"Oh, fine," she replied. "I saw Thalia earlier today."

"Thalia?" He felt relief wash over him; maybe Grover had been right.

"Yeah," she said. "She… she likes the Huntresses, I think."

"Cool," Percy said. He was glad; Thalia had turned out to be a good friend.

"We're here," Percy answered.

"Okay." She actually looked disappointed.

"Hold on tight," Percy said, "People kind of rush towards the doors." His words were slightly undermined by the two or three people who got off with them. He squirmed, knowing it must have come off as a move. But looking at Annabeth's face, she didn't seem to mind.

"This way," Percy said. They stepped through the restaurant's doors, and Percy kept a careful tab on Annabeth's expression. He couldn't tell if she was pleased or not. Percy fidgeted in his chair, realizing that he wasn't sure what they should talk about.

"How's camp?" he asked, after several moments had gone by.

She gave him a funny look. "You were there two days ago."

"Yeah, but since then." He stared uncomfortably at the tablecloth. All hopes of a 'smooth' evening seemed to be rather useless.

She smiled. "It was fine. Hey Percy…"

"Yeah?"

"Stop acting so weird, it's freaking me out."

He shook his head, trying to knock away his uneasiness. "Sorry."

"No problem," she answered.

He looked at her for a long moment, trying to read her. She looked happy to him. Then again, she'd never really had a relaxing time before her in life. These were the first few weeks of freedom that she'd ever really had.

"How's your mom?" she asked.

"My mom?" It seemed just as awkward as any of the questions he'd asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, she and Paul want a baby."

"Really?" She lit up, in the way that girls did when talking about newborns.

"Yeah. Nothing yet but," he shrugged, "We'll see."

"That's exciting," Annabeth murmured.

"Eh, they've thought about it for a while."

"Oh… still great though, right?"

"Sure," Percy agreed. "How are your brothers?"

She laughed. "Fine."

The waitress interrupted then, asking for their orders.

"Oops, sorry," Percy said. "We haven't looked yet. Give us another minute, please?"

The waitress walked away, and Annabeth looked at Percy. "You sound so professional."

Percy grinned. "I'm a New Yorker. It comes with the territory."

She sighed. "Guess so."

"Listen," Percy began. The thought had entered his mind unprompted, but he wanted to ask before he forgot. "Do you want to come to Montauk with me? Maybe in September?"

"Montauk?" Annabeth asked, curiously. "Why?"

"Well, it's an important place to me," Percy said, "And my parents met there."

"Oh Percy…"

"No, no," he said, quickly. "Nothing sentimental. I just… I don't know, I like it there. Will you come?"

"With you?"

"Yeah."

"Um… maybe. We just started dating, though."

"I know," Percy answered, "We don't have to like make it romantic or anything. I mean, we can. But just… for fun, if you want it to be."

"Okay," Annabeth said. "I'll think about it."

"Great," Percy replied. He wasn't quite sure what his attraction was to bringing her there.

She nodded, smiling. "So… what else is new?"

"Not that much. I have a ton of homework."

"Yeah? You need any help?"

He shrugged, finding it odd that he'd never thought to ask her. "If you wanted to, sure."

"I think it could be fun," Annabeth said, slyly grinning. "I'm okay at all that school stuff, actually."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Of course, you're a daughter of Athena."

She glanced around, faking embarrassment. "Yeah, well."

They were left in an uncomfortable silence, which was broken when Percy suggested they peruse the menu.

Things got better as the night went on. They fell back into their familiar rhythm, of bickering mixed with the slightest sexual tension. It was pleasant and easy.

Percy's only complaint was the lack of romance. It was more like they were friends again, and there was less affection present than there had been in the past three weeks. He wasn't sure where that spark had gone.

"Um, are you done?" Percy asked, after they'd been sitting for a few minutes.

"Yeah," she replied, setting her fork down. "You?"

Percy nodded. "Do you want desert?"

She smiled. "M&M's."

"Right." They paid and left, Percy nervously trying to keep the conversation alive. "Did… did you like the restaurant?" His mom had taken him there on occasion, when he was little. It was a nostalgic place to him, although he didn't think she knew that.

"It was nice," she commented, gracefully slipping her arm through his.

"Yeah," Percy replied. He bordered on telling her about how he used to go there, but decided not to. They knew each other already; it wasn't like this was a get-to-know-each-other kind of thing.

Suddenly, he had the desire to kiss her. Or to hug her, or to show his affection in some other physical fashion. Preferably one that leaned further away from friendship, though, as he was beginning to worry that romance was slipping from them altogether.

"Movie time?" he asked, unnecessarily. They'd already agreed to do the whole classic first date thing.

Annabeth nodded. "Sure."

"What kind?" He knew the myth about horror movies and getting a girl to sit in your lap, but out of diplomacy, he figured he'd let her pick.

"A comedy?" she asked, hopefully. "You know, I've only seen a couple of those in my life."

Percy frowned sadly. He'd loved comedies as a little kid. "Really?"

She shook her head, running a hand over the movie's billboard. "Yeah… I was too young for them before I ran away." She laughed. "They had too many inappropriate jokes."

He grinned. "Well, we're sixteen. I think you can handle them now, right?"

"I'd say so, yeah."

He liked how she continued to hang onto his arm while they purchased tickets. "M&M time?"

She nodded. "You got me all excited for them. My treat though, okay?"

"What?" He stopped walking. "No, my treat. I'm the guy."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up, sexist."

"No, seriously Annabeth." He put a hand out to stop her. "I'm buying them."

She carefully surveyed his face before nodding slowly. "Okay… if you really want to."

Both of their cheeks were crimson as he bought the promised chocolate candies. He wasn't even_ that_ low on cash anymore, now that Paul was with them. He didn't think she realized that.

It was a problem that they never crossed at camp, where there was nothing to buy. And yet, in the real world, it was another thing that separated them. Their parents, their pasts, and their economic states. It didn't make all that much of a difference, but it shed a bit of awkwardness on their dating.

"Showtime," Percy said, arching his eyebrows in a miserable attempt at humor. "You ready?"

"Oh yeah, I'm sure it's going to be epic."

"Epic?" He grinned.

She rolled her eyes. "I've heard it around, thought I'd try it."

"Doesn't suit you," Percy said, resuming their earlier position of linked arms.

"Didn't think it would," she said. With that, she dug into her purse and applied a coat of lip-gloss.

Percy leaned back against the movie theater seat, contemplating the action. It was odd for two reasons. First, Annabeth didn't _wear_ makeup. It wasn't her style, and frankly, he liked it about her. And sure, the stuff he'd already observed her wearing made her gorgeous, but he didn't really see the need for _more_. But the more troubling problem, in his mind, was the fact that she'd done it in front of him. Weren't people not supposed to do that on a first date? Were they really so abnormally bonded that she didn't even worry about retaining the slightest bit of allure to their relationship? It concerned him, and he took her hand to comfort himself. There was not the slightest bit of static to the gesture, and he frowned.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked, after a few minutes.

"Fine," Percy murmured distractedly. "Fine," he reiterated, with a bit more conviction.

"You're sure?" she asked again, rubbing her thumb across his knuckles.

"Yeah," he replied, truthfully. "Tonight's been fun."

"It has," she agreed. "We should do it again, sometime."

Percy glanced at her, a grin twitching on his lips. "I can't tell whether it's sarcasm or doubt."

"Neither, don't worry," Annabeth said, dropping her head onto his shoulder.

"Okay," he laughed, still uncertain.

The movie began then, and they were saved from worrying each other anymore. It wasn't that the date was bad or anything, everything was fine, it just wasn't what Percy had been expecting.

They were about forty-five minutes through the movie when their hands met in the M&M bag. For a brief second, Percy felt the spark. Their sweaty fingers brushed together, and then they both quickly drew away. Suddenly, it didn't matter that they were already cuddling or that they'd been friends for ages; they were a regular couple, on a first date. For a split of a moment, Percy felt the electricity on his skin. Rather than the delightful nerves of first touches, he felt relieved.

"Nice movie," Annabeth said, after the credits began to roll.

Percy nodded. "You liked it?"

She smiled. "Not really. Turns out I wasn't missing much with these things."

Percy waved a hand, trying not to allow his taste in movies to be affronted. "Eh, they're just not your thing."

"No, they're not," she replied. "But that's okay. They give me time to think."

"Oh my gods," Percy muttered, as softly as he could. Annabeth heard him anyhow, and gave him a light slap to the shoulder blade.

"Hey now, we shouldn't argue before saying goodbye. Besides, I've heard that opposites attract."

Percy smirked. "If they didn't I'm sure we wouldn't be here."

"Point taken." They stared at one another, both trying to think of how to finalize it.

With a kiss? But they'd already kissed. Percy sighed, colossally frustrated with his inability to woo her. "Goodnight Annabeth."

She looked at him, frowning. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Percy said, shrugging. "Tonight was great."

"I thought so," Annabeth said carefully. "Did you?"

He looked at the top of her eyes, noticing for the first time how her lashes were laced with mascara. It made her grey irises stand out even more. "Yeah… it's just, we're bad at this."

She smiled, even as he continued to frown. "At what?"

"At this, at dating." His voice rose a bit. "We kind of suck."

She rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

"I thought I was Seaweed Brain."

"No, that's a term of endearment. Now I'm actually calling you a moron."

"Oh, okay." He slouched slightly.

"Percy, we don't have to be 'good' at dating to be in a relationship." She placed a hand under his chin, forcing him to look at her.

"Yeah, but it'd be nice," Percy replied. "I mean, I think we deserve to have _some_ normal things in our lives."

Annabeth shrugged. "Maybe not. Haven't you learned that normal isn't always good?"

"Please don't lecture me." He sounded almost desperate, and it shut her up.

"Percy…"

"No, just forget it."

"Percy," she said, grabbing his arms to stop him from walking away. "We can't end our first date like this. I'm sorry, but we can't."

He sighed, glancing back at her. "It's just… I don't want it not to be exciting. You and me. I want it to be like other relationships are."

"Well, you can't expect that," she said. "You just can't Seaweed Brain, I'm sorry. _We're_ not like everyone else. And the excitement thing… I don't know, I get it too. We were friends first, though. It's one of the drawbacks." She smiled, trying desperately to cheer him up. "But hey, it means we have a way lower chance of breaking up."

This got him to smile. "Really?"

"Yeah. We're already past the hard part."

"Good to know." He took a deep breath, meeting her eyes. "I'm sorry for screwing this up."

"Don't worry, you didn't," she said, taking another step towards him. "And listen… I'll come to Montauk with you."

"You will?" In truth, it meant more to him than the whole night had.

"Of course. You are my boyfriend, after all."

There was a long pause, only ending when Percy spoke. "We kiss now, right?"

"Generally," Annabeth said, quieting down as their lips met.

He walked her to the bus, which she was going to take back to camp, and waved goodbye. Maybe it wasn't so bad, not being the dating types. They shouldn't have expected to be, after being so different in everything else they were.

He'd just have to take it slow, Percy realized, as he headed home. After all, there friendship had taken over a year to get right, who knew how long a relationship would take. And now they had Montauk to look forward to… Even with the inevitable flaws, it looked like everything would be okay.

A/N: For now, this is a one-shot. If people want (although it might take me a while) I can do the part with them in Montauk. Please, please review!


End file.
